University & Community Partnerships

This study seeks to introduce a framework that can assist anchor institutions in understanding their impact on the community and, in particular, their impact on the welfare of low-income children and families in those communities.

Catalyzed in 2002 by the Northwest Leadership Foundation, which was frustrated that many Tacoma residents were not completing college, Act Six aims to better support emerging community leaders so they can be agents of change following graduation. Program participants are provided full scholarships to faith- and social justice-based colleges, and receive support and leadership training before and during college to inspire and equip them to serve their home communities. The program’s success has led to its expansion across the Northwest and Midwest regions to 13 partner colleges. Since 2002, Act Six has provided leadership support and nearly $43 million in grants and scholarships to over 615 students.

Wayne State University Office of Economic Development’s Detroit Revitalization Fellows (DRF) program aims to help Detroit’s civic, community, and economic development organizations attract, develop, and sustain the best mid-career talent. Program fellows participate in a two-year leadership program while working full-time at a Detroit-based organization involved in civic, community, and economic development. Since its launch in 2011, the program has graduated 48 fellows and is credited with enabling nearly 50 organizations to take on new, high-impact projects.

The Front Door for Business Engagement acts as a “one-stop shop” for area businesses interested in accessing Wayne State’s resources such as faculty consultants, research expertise and investments, facilities, technology, licensing opportunities, and student interns. The effort was launched by Wayne State in 2009 as part of the university’s effort to help stimulate economic development in the metro area. The Front Door is located in TechTown, the university’s research park and business incubator.

Operating out of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, the Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) is a nonprofit architecture and urban center focused on creating sustainable spaces and communities through quality design and collaborative processes. Since 1994, DCDC has worked with over 100 Detroit nonprofit organizations, community groups, and philanthropic foundations on projects that respond to locally defined issues and empower residents and other stakeholders to facilitate their own community planning, development, and building design.

Founded in 1890 as a women’s college with 90 students, Belmont is now a co-educational Christian university with more than 7,700 students. Belmont has partnered with Nashville’s Metro Board of Parks and Recreation to transform the 24-acre Rose Park into a state-of-the-art community facility with sports fields, a basketball court, a walking track, and a training facility. Belmont invested over $9 million in the project, and continues to contribute $50,000 a year to support park programming for youth and seniors. Also committed to diversity and inclusion, in 2015, the University launched its Supplier Diversity Program to ensure its procurement base would better reflect its community.

Our new report, Higher Education's Anchor Mission, examines how an ongoing—and expanding—effort to track the impact of colleges and universities on the financial and social well-being of their surrounding neighborhoods is helping these anchor institutions align their resources to build stronger community partnerships and create more inclusive local economies.

This new guide, published by the UK’s Co-Operative Party, outlines the steps needed to develop a community wealth building ecosystem. Aimed at local officials and public-sector institutions, the guide provides information on these steps, from developing leadership to shifting procurement, a background on community wealth building, a case study of this approach in Preston, England, and recommendations for actions localities can take.

StartUP FIU focuses on nurturing traditional and social entrepreneurship among Florida International University students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the South Florida community by supporting the development of new startups, the acceleration of early-stage companies, and the commercialization of groundbreaking technologies. The effort includes StartUP FIU Food, an incubator seeking to help grow food businesses with limited resources and a commitment to job creation. It also includes the Empower Accelerator, a 14-week program that aims to develop scalable ventures by providing entrepreneurs with coaches, skills training, workspace, and related supports.